Organisation is Key for Any Business to Succeed

If you haven’t done it yourself, you’ve probably heard others pledging to get organised as one of their new year’s resolutions. It might sound boring, unnecessary, and a ‘tomorrow job’ – but it’s actually incredibly important and quite a challenge, especially if you’re running a business.

Entrepreneurs have to wear different hats throughout the day. You may be negotiating with a prospective client in the morning, but you’d be glued to your desk by the afternoon, reviewing contracts and expense reports.

In between these jobs, you’ll have to deal with your employees, handle concerns from clients, balance a social life, and think about what you want to have for dinner with the family later that evening.  

Sounds a little overwhelming, right?

It’s no wonder why some business owners claim to be either too busy or too tired to learn the habit of organisation. Unfortunately, the best way out of this mess is to establish routines and maintain order and discipline in your personal life and business.

The Cost of Disorganisation

Meet Robert. Robert attended an inspirational talk for small business owners. One question from the speaker stood out and has occupied his mind since: How much of our day is wasted searching for something that isn’t in its proper place?

Robert had never given it a thought before, but it came back into his mind when he couldn’t find the keys to his office on his way back from the gym. It took him about five minutes of looking through his pockets and car drawers to realise that he had most likely left them at home.

As a result, Robert had to make a detour to fetch the office keys because he forgot to instruct his employee to make a duplicate copy. At that point, he was almost an hour behind his supposed schedule for the day.

It wasn’t just him, too. When Robert reached the office, an employee at his warehouse was going through the folders of delivery receipts. He was looking for a specific transaction that the accountant wanted to clarify. The same accountant felt harried because the due date of her report was fast approaching.

Robert did some quick calculations in his head. If the warehouse guy spent half an hour of his daily shift on locating records, the company would be paying him $12.00 a day for this non-productive task. In a month, that cost would be $240.00, and in a year, $2,880.00.

And that was wasteful spending on just a single employee for a single task.

How much more was Robert’s business losing every day because of the lack of organisation? How much personal free time was he missing out on because he was too engrossed with everything else but proper planning?

Robert didn’t need to know the exact figures – but he made the decision that he needed to get organised immediately.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Looking Beyond 

Other than its impact on your cash flow, this lack of organisation can have rippling effects on your personal life and business because of the following factors:

Added stress

We are no strangers to stress in the workplace. That doesn’t mean we should welcome it, especially if its trigger is something that can be prevented or avoided.

In Robert’s case, he felt frazzled when he couldn’t find his office keys. He was also on edge while driving because of his tardiness. Both the warehouse employee and accountant were under extra pressure because of improper record management.

While organisation can’t eliminate stress in our lives, the consequences of its absence add up to our anxiety and hardships for the day.  

Tax-related documents

Doing our taxes tends to be difficult, even without the challenge of messy records or missing receipts.

Aside from requiring a longer time and extra effort, incomplete submissions may lead to legal problems during an audit. That’s why the accountant was so pressed to provide a complete and accurate report.

Through a proper filing system and basic accounting software, Robert’s business and employees wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble every time tax season arrives.

Strained relationships

This applies to your relationships with family and friends, as well as your business relationships with your suppliers and customers.

If much of your day—and night—has to be spent at work because of a disorganised system, you would have to pick between quality time with your loved ones and handling your responsibilities as a business owner. It would be hard to maintain balance in your life, and in the end, you might lose everything by spending yourself too thinly.

Your customers or vendors won’t appreciate it if you keep on having issues or delays because of the lack of order in your business. Repeat business and customer loyalty will likely be harder to achieve. You may even get blacklisted by other companies for failing to pay for the services or goods they deliver to your company. 

Living and working in a chaotic environment can prevent you from attaining long-term success and happiness. You might not see its positive impacts right now—some may even think of it as a chore. To those people, we suggest reflecting on the same question that turned Robert’s life and career for the better.

5 Practical Tips to Get Organised

You don’t have to make big and dramatic changes to become more organised—the small things you do every day matter.

What matters more at this stage is your full acceptance that structure and processes aren’t walls that will limit you. Instead, they serve as the foundation for us to focus on achieving more meaningful goals.

To give you a head-start, here are five actionable tips that you and your company can do now:

• Plan your activities – but leave some room for the unexpected

Create a daily or weekly schedule by planning your meetings or events on a calendar. Avoid

packing everything in a day or two because last-minute changes can ruin your flow and throw you into disarray again.

• Prioritise according to your goals

To keep yourself from being overwhelmed by the seemingly countless tasks and decisions you have to make as a business owner, take the time to analyse your list of things to do, and figure out how each one may contribute to the achievement of your goals.

If you intend to expand your business, you’ll need to prioritise your meetings with e-commerce platforms and other distribution channels that you can open within the project timeline.

On the other hand, if organising your business is on the top of your list, then allocate time and energy to identifying and resolving the root causes of disorder in your company.

• Practice task batching

Rather than settling for a simple to-do list, take one step further by batching similar tasks together.

For example, set aside one or two hours each day to read through your email and respond when needed. Highlight the ones that require further action, and then remove or archive the messages that would just clutter your inbox.

Once you’re done, move on to the next batch of tasks. Gor example, reviewing the shortlist of job applicants you will interview the following day.

• Create processes for repeated tasks or activities

If you’re facing the same issue over and over again, you might need to establish and implement a process that will standardise the way you or your employees work. It doesn’t have to be a long-winded document. As long as it clarifies the relevant rules, guidelines, and assignments, then the process may help you resolve the issue.

• Delegate as needed

Organising your home or business isn’t a one-person job. There is nothing wrong with assigning others to complete tasks beyond your skills or not as important as your primary responsibilities.

For example, keeping your house neat and clean might require hiring the services of professional cleaners. At work, consider getting an assistant who could help you stay on top of your schedule, organise meetings, and make follow-ups. The key is finding the right person for the job and giving clear instructions or expectations.

There are plenty more that you could do to get organised. It’s important to note that what works for us may not work just as well for you.

However, we suggest trying out first the tips we have shared above and observing their effects on your day-to-day activities. Doing so will push you forward to instilling discipline and order at home and in the workplace.

Key Takeaways

Running a successful business isn’t possible without the habit of organisation. Failing to see its value will lead to wasteful spending, elevated stress level, legal problems, or relationship troubles.

Proactive entrepreneurs recognise the importance of organisation, regardless of whether their business is big or small. They take the necessary steps to address the problem areas and establish frameworks for themselves and their employees.

That doesn’t mean that you must do everything yourself, though. By embracing organisation and being a model to the people around you, there’s a good chance that others will notice the difference and become encouraged to follow your lead.

Delegation isn’t limited to the people within your company, too. Consider seeking the expertise of a business coach or strategist who can guide you towards your goal.

So, how many minutes in your day are you wasting due to the lack of organisation? Do you believe you can still improve how you handle your personal or business matters?

Let us know, and feel free to share more tips on your fellow business owners can become better at getting and staying organised.